DecodingEgyptianHieroglyphs__Champollion

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UPDATED 19 MAY, 2023 - 17:00 MARK MILLER
The Legacy and Tragic Death of

Egyptology's Father, Champollion
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Remembered as the father of Egyptology, the 19th-century Frenchman Jean-François

Champollion prematurely and tragically passed away in 1832 shortly after visiting
Egypt. In 1822, Champollion deciphered the iconic Rosetta Stone, unlocking the
enigmatic hieroglyphic texts texts discovered in ruins up and down the length of
Egypt. In 2022, on the bicentennial of his remarkable achievement, France
commemorated Champollion's legacy through a series of events and celebrations.
Leon Cogniet’s portrait of Jean-François Champollion. ( Public domain )
The Life and Legacy of Jean-François Champollion
Born in 1790, in a French town known as Figeac which is now home to the Musée
Champollion - Les Écritures du Monde (Champollion Museum - Writings of the
World), Jean-François Champollion displayed an early passion for languages and
ancient history. From a young age he demonstrated exceptional linguistic skills and a
deep curiosity for deciphering ancient scripts.
Champollion’s groundbreaking achievements came to fruition in 1822 when he
successfully deciphered the Rosetta Stone, unraveling the mysteries of Egyptian
hieroglyphics . This work was made possible by his research and knowledge of
languages, including Coptic and Demotic. Cracking the hieroglyphic code carved
onto the Rosetta Stone opened up a new world of understanding, shedding light on
the rich history, culture and civilization of ancient Egypt .
o The Rosetta Stone: One of Archaeology’s Greatest Treasures
o Napoleon’s Amazing Foresight: Savants, Soldiers and Science
While the Rosetta Stone itself was discovered in Egypt in 1799 by French soldiers
during Napoleon Bonaparte's campaign, and the stone was transported to the British
Museum in London in 1802 under the terms of the Treaty of Alexandria, it was
Champollion who made the breakthrough in Paris, France, based on drawings and
copies of its inscriptions. He did so after years of linguistic study, historical analysis
and comparison of the Rosetta Stone's inscriptions with other known ancient texts
After a lifetime dedicated this research of hieroglyphics, Jean-François Champollion
embarked on his final trip to Egypt in 1828. The purpose of his visit was to further
explore the ancient sites and gather additional knowledge about Egyptian civilization,
while immersing himself in the rich cultural and historical tapestry that had
captivated him for years. However, his health began to deteriorate during the
expedition and upon returning to France his condition worsened. Tragically, he
passed away in 1832, leaving behind an extraordinary legacy.
Detail from one of Jean-François Champollion’s notebooks. ( Public domain )

Seeking Answers: Investigating the Cause of Champollion's
Untimely Death
Jean-François Champollion's premature death at the age of 41 has often been
attributed to exhaustion caused by his year-long visit to Egypt. It was believed that
the strain of deciphering the Rosetta Stone and the demands of exploration took a
toll on his health and that he ultimately succumbed to a stroke. “I sleep two or three
times a week with the Rosetta inscription,” he wrote in 1814, in a passage quoted
by The Washington Post . “So far I’ve only gained headaches and two or three
words.”
New medical research, however, has challenged this conventional explanation and
suggests that other factors may have contributed to his decline. While the exact
cause of his death remains uncertain, experts question whether a stroke alone was
solely responsible.
Published in 2015, a letter to the editor of the journal Clinical Neurophysiology by Dr.
Hutan Ashrafian of the Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College-London,
claimed that the term “stroke” was used in a generic sense rather than as a formal
medical diagnosis. Lacking access to an autopsy, Ashrafian studied reports of
Champollion’s condition over the years in order to reach certain conclusions about
the death of the great scholar.
During his trip to Egypt, Champollion did not suffer from lymph disease or fevers.
However, accounts of his final years shed light on a different set of afflictions.
Although he did not show symptoms of heart disease or impaired blood flow,
Champollion faced the daunting challenges of muscle weakness, limb paralysis, and
ultimately, the inability to breathe.
“Furthermore, at the moment of decipherment of hieroglyphs (1828), he is noted to
have collapsed, though this may be viewed as a vasovagal [fainting] episode as a
result of extreme emotional outpouring,” wrote Ashrafian. “In his final weeks he
became emotionally labile consistent with progression of pseudobulbar dysfunction,
and eventually demonstrated a ‘locked-in’ syndrome before his death.”
Thus, according to this diagnosis, Jean-François Champollion, who gave voice to the
ancient Egyptians through his decipherment of hieroglyphics , faced
pseudobulbar dysfunction, an affliction which rendered him unable to speak. It may
be considered ironic that a man who opened the ancient Egyptian world to modern
scholarship was incapable of articulating his own thoughts just before he died.
After careful examination of Champollion's symptoms, Dr. Ashrafian reached a
compelling conclusion: the esteemed scholar had been grappling with amyotrophic
lateral sclerosis (ALS), a debilitating condition causing progressive muscle paralysis.
Notably, Champollion did not exhibit mental impairment or seizures, but rather
experienced initial weakness in his legs, which later extended to a loss of speech.
This diagnosis sheds new light on the challenges Champollion faced and further
deepens our appreciation for his unwavering determination in deciphering the
mysteries of ancient Egypt amidst his own physical decline.
The Rosetta Stone on display at the British Museum. ( British Museum / CC BY-NC-
SA 4.0 )
Words of the Gods: The Rosetta Stone and the Legacy of
Champollion’s Work
The term “hieroglyph” derives from the Greek words meaning “sacred words” or
“sacred signs,” as first utilized by Clement of Alexandria. In ancient Egypt, their own
script was referred to as mdju netjer or “words of the gods.” The earliest known
hieroglyphs can be traced back to the pre-dynastic era, approximately from 3400 to
3200 BC. However, the last evidence of hieroglyphs in use can be found around 394
AD, marking the culmination of their historical prominence and significance in ancient
Egypt.
Hieroglyphs abound on ancient Egyptian artifacts, carved into clay seals, rock,
pottery vessels, bone, ivory and, as in the case of the Rosetta Stone stela, into
basalt. “When Pharaonic Egypt became Christianized in the 4th century, the meaning
of Egyptian hieroglyphics was lost for about 1,500 years,” explained The
Washington Post . Rather than a kind of script, the symbols came to be understood
as pagan pictograms instead. For Champollion, the Rosetta Stone was a pivotal
artifact in unraveling the hieroglyphic code because of its inclusion of the same
inscription in three scripts; hieroglyphs, Egyptian demotic and ancient Greek.
o Google Launches AI Cyber Rosetta Stone for Hieroglyphic Translations
o Egyptian Hieroglyphs: The Language of the Gods
While Jean-François Champollion's translation was a milestone for Egyptology, the
field has continued to advance, leading to evolving linguistic understanding, new
insights and revisions in translations over time. The inscription itself was crafted by
Egyptian clergy to commemorate the first anniversary of Ptolemy V ’s coronation in
196 BC. The so-called Rosetta Stone served as a powerful affirmation of the royal cult
dedicated to the young Pharaoh, and the inscription explicitly dictated that the stone
was to be reproduced and distributed across the temples throughout Egypt.
Statue of Jean-François Champollion by Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi. (Rama / CC BY-

SA 3.0 FR )
France's Bicentennial Celebration of Champollion's Groundbreaking
Discovery
To celebrate the bicentennial of Champollion’s discovery, France presented a series
of spectacular events in 2022. After three-year-long preparations, the Bibliothèque
Nationale de France (BNF), or the “French National Library,” put together an
exhibition of about 350 artifacts. These were displayed alongside a curated selection
of Champollion’s unpublished documents, based on 88 volumes of notes and
illustrations he left behind which are currently stored at the BNF.
Titled L'Aventure Champollion: Dans le secret des hieroglyphs , or “The
Champollion Adventure: Within the Secret of Hieroglyphs,” the exhibition aimed to
vividly portray Champollion's renowned work by showcasing the meticulous research
methods he employed. The goal was to bring his extraordinary journey to life,
offering visitors an immersive experience into the world of hieroglyphs.
Jean-François Champollion's birthplace in Figeac also hosted a six-month series of
events to celebrate his legacy. Dubbed Eurêka! Champollion 2022 , activities
included concerts, movie screenings, theatrical performances, museum exhibitions
and seminars led by prominent Egyptologists. Since 1995, the town square of Figeac
has been home to a magnificent black granite replica of the Rosetta Stone crafted by
the American conceptual artist Joseph Kosuth.
The monumental reproduction of the Rosetta stone by the American conceptual artist
Joseph Kosuth in Figeac, Jean-François Champollion's birthplace, known as the Place
des Écritures. (Bmclaughlin9 / CC BY-SA 3.0 )
Meanwhile, the Louvre-Lens Museum hosted the captivating
exhibition Champollion: The Path of Hieroglyphs up until January 2023, offering
a profound exploration of Champollion's groundbreaking discovery and unveiling his
personal journey.
One aspect revealed by the exhibit is that despite his humble origins in southwestern
France, Champollion's association with Joseph Fourier, a scholar who
accompanied Napoleon on his Egyptian expedition , provided him an opportunity
to pursue studies in Paris. The city's deep fascination with ancient Egypt was evident
through its abundance of Egyptian artifacts, which aided Champollion in his work,
and the exhibition meticulously presented the resources available during his time in
Paris.
The exhibit featured the renowned statue of Champollion sculpted by Frédéric-
Auguste Bartholdi, the mastermind behind the Statue of Liberty in New York City.
Since 1878, this statue has graced the main courtyard of the Collège de France in
Paris. For this was the city where Champollion was appointed by King Charles X to
oversee the newly acquired Egyptian collections at the Louvre, in recognition of his
remarkable achievements deciphering the hieroglyphs of the Rosetta Stone .
Top image: Detail from an old Egyptian postage stamp depicting Jean-François
Champollion. Source: Silvio / Adobe Stock
By Mark Miller
Editor’s note: This article was updated and revised adding new information by Cecilia
Bogaard, May 19, 2023

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HTTPS://WWW.ANCIENT-ORIGINS.NET/ARTIFACTS-ANCIENT-WRITINGS/CHAMPOLLION-020585?

UPDATED 19 MAY, 2023 - 17:00 MARK MILLER

The Legacy and Tragic Death of

Remembered as the father of Egyptology, the 19th-century Frenchman Jean-François

Detail from one of Jean-François Champollion’s notebooks. ( Public domain )

Statue of Jean-François Champollion by Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi. (Rama / CC BY-

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